Sheet-feeder.



w. vH. SMITH.

SHEET FEEDER, PPLIUATIOH FILED su. 1a. nos;

l Patented Mar.15,1910. Y snBMs-susrr 1.

lllllll a Wmme# Y W. H. SMITH. SHEET FEEDER rrmonmn nm: nl. 1a. im.

Patented Mar.15,1910.

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W. H. SMITH. SHEET FEEDER. nrLIoA'nox Hmm su. 1a. 190s.

Patented 15, 1910.

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- ,f7/if Riom Y UNITED sTATns PATENT Genion.

WALTER H. SMITH, OF NILES, OHIO, ASSIGNOR T THE HARRIS AUTOMATIC :PRESSCOMPANY, 0F NILES, OHIO. A CORPORATION 0F OHIO.

SHEET-FEEDER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Rial-.15, 1910.

Application filed January 13, 1908. Serial No. 472,085.

Niles. iii the county of Trumbull and State of Ohio. have inventedcertain new and useful liiipioi'cnicnts iii Sheet-Feeders; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear. and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled iii the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same.

ln certain grades of printing it is necesary that thc stock beaccurately fed to perfeci register. This is es ecially so where thestock has to be passer through the press more than once. The sainerequirement expapci'-haiif lling machine.

means of which the stock is positioned by two operators in relation tocertain marks or oints thereon so as to insure absolute uni 'ormity1 inregister regardless of the number o times the stock may be fed to thepaper-handling machine. On account of the time required to thusaccurately position the stock I provide two diii'erent points for thispurpose, the stock being taken alternately from each point vandtransferred to a coinnion intermediate point where it may be taken up bythe press cylinder. The pointers and guides G may be adjusted to suitdifferent conditions. The means employed to transfcr the stock to asecond position is ists: in feeding such stock to any kind of;

Since the edgcsi arc usually iuitriiiiincd the positioning of; eachslice-t is dependent usually upon the; centering or alining of two ormore marks thereon with certain pointers or guides.i

This necessarily involves considerable time and in consequence theoutput of a machine to which stock is thus positioned beforc being tedyis greatly limited. l

' l he primary obicct of my invention 1s to The invention will behereinafter fully characterized bv the fact that the transferred sheetis first released and after it has been removed by the machine to whichitis thus positioned a sccondsheet previously setto gage is then takenup and transferred, 'a third sheet in the meantime being set to perfeetregister and ready to be transferred when the second sheet has beenremoved.

The stock transferrer is shown as comj posed of two sets of giippcrs fand 8, each' l set consistingr of two pairs, and each pair in providesimple and highly eliicient meansi E composed of thin metal. Anysuitable g means may. beI employed for actuating the movable grippingmembers. Such members set forth and partially pointed out in thefclaims.

ln the accom ianying drawings, Figure l is a plan View, showing myimprovement applied to a printing.r press. Fig. i2 is an cnil View. Fig.3 is u front elevation.

of the two seis are shown as connected together by rocker-arms 13, 14,upon which the rods of said movable gripping members Y are mounted.Thcsc rocker-arms are fast on f a common shaft haring its bearings in ato a printing` press, but it may be emp oyed in connection with anypapcr-handl1ng inai i i i nected together so t track and bracket 1G of acarriage 17; which latter is t composed of upper and lower ortions ex- Ihave shown my improvement as ap )heil tending, respectivelabove an belowthe feed-table, and supported by a slide-bar 18 and rollers 19 movableon a track 20, said slide-liar being secured in any suitable manner tothe main frame of. the machine. The gripping members 9 are supported bythe lower portion of the cari-ia e while the upper portion thcrc'ofliasgui e openings for the rods of gripping members 10. The movable grippermembers are coni at after one set has` pointers 5 and straight edgeguides 6 by vbeen moved to releasevva transferred sheet,

by the same agency the other set of grippers will be caused to grip asecond sheet reviously set to register. The rocker-arm 3 is designed tobe engaged by a lever 2l y, which is actuated by the upward movement ofa rod 22 carryino' at its lower end a roller 23 which is engaged by acam24: carried by the impression cylinder. This cam has two raised portions25 and 26, the former of lesser length than the latter, so that when theroller is engaged lirst by the raised portion, Q5, the grippers will berocked sufciently to release the sheet which has been positionedcentrally in line with the impression cylinder and permit. itsWithdrawal by the grippers of the impression cylinder, but when thegreater of the two raised portions, 2G, engages such roller the otherset of grippers will he caused to enffage a new sheet set to register onthe feed-table. By thus deferring this engagement additional time isallowed for the o erator to place the f1 stock to register. A ter thegrippers are closed against a sheet nreviously set to register .thecarriage is shifted longitudinally to transfer such sheet to the centralposition and take up a second sheet at the other end of the table. Thisshifting ma be accomplished by any suitable means, ut that showncomprises an arm 27 mounted on a shaft 28 carrying a short arm 29 theend of which extends into a camroove 30 of a driven Wheel 31, said arm2T eing slotted at. its upper end to engage a pin of the carringe. lVhenthe latter is shifted it will carry. a sheet exactly as it was when setto register, and Without any deliection will posillon such sheetdirectly in theline of feed to the press or other machine. After thecarriage is shifted, the rockenarm 13 is engaged by a second lever 21the counterpart of lever Q1, which lever 21 is actuated by means exactlysimilar to that before described, and for this reason its parts aredesignated by corresponding reference numerals prime to those heretoforeerigzloyed. First the grippers are actuated su ciently to release thetransferred sheet, and by the time such sheet is taken up by thecylinder. the grippers are again actuated to close against a sheetpositioned to register at the end ofthe feed-table to which the'carriagehas been shifted. Thus ample time is allowed for each operator tocarefully and accuratelyv position each sheet before the same is engagedby the grippers. Itis then transerred Without, loss of time. In this waythe speed of the press. and hence its out ut, may be greatly increased.anu yet each s ieet once accurately adjusted to proper register retainsits proper position even after eing transferred.

To insure quick and accurate movements of the grippers both in openingand closing I mount1 on shaft 15 a linger 32 which acts Vto close andopen the gri members o against a beveled plunger 33 vertically-mova lein an arm o bracket 16, such plunffer being normally held in its loweredposit on by a spring 34. When thelrocker-arm 13 is actuated by either ofthe levers 2l or 2l' ers the plunger will be readily raised su cientlyto allow the linger 32 to pass the oint thereof, whereupon the latterdeseen s and the reverse side of the bevel of the plunger forces thegrippers of the two sets in opposite directions with a quick spring-likeaction. This arran ement permits the movable each set of grippers to beslightly raised to release n sheet Without closing the other set of gripers, the latter action being caused only w ien the rocherarrns make acomplete Stroke by the engagement of the greater of the two raisedportions of the cams with the roller of the leveractuating rod.

lt should be stated that if it were not for the necessity of maintaininga clear space in front of the impression cylinder n single cam on the.impression-cylinder would suftice, but in that event the two levers 21and 21 would have. to be mounted on a common shaft.

The operation although made clear by what has been said may be brietlysummarzed as follows Assuming that the carriage is at the right, asshown in Fig. 3, and that stock is being' placed, one sheet at a time,at each end of the feed-table, and ac-- curately registered by theoverhangin pointer and uide, when through the raise portion 26 0% thecam the lever 21 is actuated the rocker arm 13 is turned sufficiently toovercome the tension of the plungerspring and the sheet is seized by thegrippers of set 8. lThereupon the carriage is quickliv shifted towardthe left, and when through the raised portion 2.3 of the cam the leverQ1 is actuated the grippers of the set 8 are opened sufficiently torelease the transferred sheet and permit it to be taken up by themachine to which it has been positioned without changeV of register.'hen the raised portion 2G efiects the further actuation of lever 21 thegrippers of set 7 will take up the previously registered sheet at theleft hand end of the feed-table, and the carriage being shifted to itsoriginal position will transfer the second sheet to the intermediatepoint and then the grippers 8 will take up the third sheet. l Thus themachine transfers previously registered stock successively fromopposite-points to a com 4mon orintermediate point ready to in-.troduced into-or taken up by a printing pref-fs or other paper-handlingmachine.

l claim as my invention:- y g 1. In combination, lined means forsupporting separatepieces of stock at 'a pluA ralty of points, meansatench point to ino n itoi'. to no when from me enable each piece ofstock to be set to register. and means for siii-vessively engaging eat-hpiene ot' pieiioiisly registered stock? from above iiiid Iii-low andtransferringr the saine to a voiiinioii point without elianging theregister thereof.

2. in combination, a fixed feed-table upon which separate piecesot'rstoelt are designed to be plat-ed at dit'ferent points, means ateaeli point to enable the stoel( to be set to register, and means forsnoeessii'elj.' engaging; each piece of previously registered stock fromabove and below and transferring: it to another point on the feed-tablewithout damning; the register thereof.

25. in combination with a paperdiandling machine, a feed-table locatedtransversely thereof and designed to support steelt :it or near itsopposite ends, and means for engaging the `storlt from above and belowand alternately transferring; it from eaeli end ot' the feed-table to anintermediate point to he talt'en np by said inzit-hiiie.

il. in t-onihinaiion with :i plurality of snpports loi' stonk. ai'eff-iYi-r tf whieh the .stia-k is disignifd to he tiaii li-rreil fromSaid snpport", upper and lower j fi'ippers for sin:Y

`apportsf means for shifting the position of the grippers4 to transferthe stoek engaged thereby to said ieieirer. and means for releasing thegrippers. Y .Y

5. ln f -oinbiuaiion with a feedtable upon which stoel; is designed tobe placed at different points. two set of iirippers for engaging. i't--peiii\el}'. the stoel; ai opposite points, said grippers being composedof upper and lower members. means eonneeting the ;i'ippeis ol' the twosets. means for shiftingthe positions of the grippers t0 transfer thestoel: engaged thereby. and means for siicii-p ivelv operatingr the fzi'ippers to permit one .sf-t to release a tinnLferred sheet and theHihi-r .set to engage another sheet.

17.*'l`lni-ombiiiation with ti feed table having: a loiig'itiiiliiialslot and designed to snpport stoel: at its opposite ends. grippei'scoinprision` a movable member and a fixed menibi'r, one above and theother below the plane ot' the stoel; and both coint'iding with saidslot, means i'or reeiproeatiner the giippers longitudinally of the feedtable, and means for actuating the fiippers at the end of eaeh incrementto release one sheet and ei;- gaee another.

'i'. ln combination with a feed-table having longitudinal slots anddesigned to snpport stoel: at its oppo-ite ends, two sets of grippernach .set comprisingT a movable member and a fixed member. one above andthe other below the feed-table and coincident with said slots. means forreeiproeating the riipezs longitudinally of the feed-table,

an` means for actnatimir the grippers at the end ot each movement sothat after one set of rrippers has released ii sheet the other .si-,t wil engage. :mother sheet.

h'. In eoiiihiniition with it feed table, de-

signed to support stock at different points,

Q a reciprocating carriage, upper and lower i in;r np sindti'aiisferrinff the stoel:

gi-ippers mounted pn said carriage for taking np and transferring' thestock alternately from said opposite points, and means for actuating thegrippeis at the end of each movement of Said carriage.

9. ln combination with a feed-table, designed to support stock atdifferent points, a reciprocating carriage, two sets of grippers mountedon said carriage composed of upper and lower members, for taking up andtransferring the stock alternately from said 0pposite points, and meansfor actuating the j frippers at the end of movement of said earriage.

l0. ln eombination with a feed table, designed to support stoel( atdifferent points, a reciprocating vari-inge, upper and. lower grippersinoiiiited on said carriage Jfor takalternately t" rom said oppositepoints, said grippeis heing, respectively. above and below the plane ,ofthe stoel: while supported on the feed vi i.'el v engaging the stoel: ateach of the i table. and means for causing the rrippers to release thesheet transferred b v them and tiien engage another sheet following suchrelease.

1l, In combination with a feed-table, designed to support stock atdierent oints, :i reeiproeating carriage, two sets o grippers mounted on.said carriage composed of tippe-r and lower niembers,'t`or taking upand transferring the stock alternately from said opposite points, andmeans for tiret causing one set of grippers to release the sheettransferred by it. and then causing the other set to engage anothersheet.

12. In combination with a feed-table, designed to support stoel; atdifferent Joints, a reciprocating carriage, two sets o; grippers mountedon lnid eariiage for taking up and transferring the stock alternatelyfrom said opposite points, said grippers being t-oiiiposed of fixed andmovable members,

meansv connecting the opposite movable members of the two sets, meansfoi'- nor nially `holding the members of one set ont of engageinentandthe other set in engagenient. and means for eliiinginfr the positions ofthe nioabie members of both sets of grippers relative to theirlixedmembers at the end of each movement of the carriage.,

12S. The combination with the feed-table having slots therein andsupports for stock g at or near its opposite ends, of a reciprocatin;rcarriage extending aboveand below said table, tito sets of gripperscomposed .each of movable and fixed members, saidlixed members beingbeneath the table and coincident with said slots, rocker-arms connectingthe opposite movable Amenib'ens of the two sels of grippers, und meansfor engaging :mil actuating said ioclteinriiis at the ends of the iinveiof said czii'rizige.

1i. The combination with the feed-tabie having slots ibex-cin annisupports 'for stock :it or ncui' its opposite ends, of a reciprocatingenriiuge extending above und below suid table, two `sets of gripperscomposed @zich of movable vund iixeil members, said iixed members beingbeneath the inble and coincident with said slots, rockcnnrnis connectingthe opposite inoijziliie members of the two .-eis of gi'ippei's, leversfor engaging inni :ietinitiner sniil io-k 1:ir1ns :it the ends' of thetravel of .said viii-ringe` and ineens Yfor :ietnnting .sneii levers toenlise first the i'nting cni'riugc extentiiiie' brive and below :eidtable. two sets of g'iippcrs composed cnt-h of movable :intl Viixetlmembers, sziitl tixetl nienibers being beneath the tzibe and coincidentwith siiiil slots. rocker-arms eonf meeting the oipositc movable membersof the two sets o gripper:l a shaft supporting said rocker-arms undnionnted on said czirl ringe, u fin er carried by said shaft, aspring-impe led plunger with which said finger enga es for holding saidrocker-arms in either o their two positions, and means for turning saidshaft at the termination of each movement of the carriage.

16. In combination with a uper-hiindiing machine and ennis actuntethereby, of a feed-tabie upon which steek is designed to be placed ateither side of the line of passage of stock to such machine, two sets ofgrippers for enga ing, respectively, the stock at opposite ein s of thetable and transferring it to the i-ine of passage to the machine,

iongitudinnliy `of the feed-table, smid gr1ppers having movable members,rocker-arms connecting,r Athe opposite niovabie members, a .sh-Liftcarrying said rocker-arms, levers for :i carriage for reciprocating saidgrippers shifting said rocker-arms at the terminotions of the movementsof the carriage, andi'oiis actuated by said ciinis for moving Suidlevers.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presenceof two subscribing witnesses.

Vitnessesz Riunioni) A. BREEZE,

.EUGENE W ITHERSTAY.

WALTER H. SMITH.

